Just Friends
by beachxxbum5
Summary: Ashley has known Joe Jonas forever; they were best friends. Now, he's back home and Ashley wants to be more than just friends: there's just one thing stopping her. sort of going off of the song Just Friends .
1. The Past

I DONT OWN THE JB -- Just my own character, Ashley!

* * *

"Honey, guess who's coming back tomorrow?" my mom asked, peering into my room.

"Who?"

"Joe!" When that name slipped off of her tongue, I knew exactly who she was talking about. Joe Jonas. We were the best of friends when he lived down the street from me, but then he moved on with his band with his brothers. We tried to keep in touch, but I'm sure he doesn't remember me. As my mom likes to remember, we were inseparable. She only remembers us as young, young kids…I remember something totally different.

_Joe and I met when we were about five or so. From then on, we were inseparable. We would always be outside playing stupid games or inside playing video games. Our parents would get together and we would have time to hang out again. I was friends with his brothers as well, but not as close as I was with Joe. _

_As we grew out of the childhood stages, we entered school and were still friends. Even in separate classes, we managed to still be together. One day, when we were about nine, Joe and I were hanging out in his bedroom, trying to do homework. We were sitting next to each other, and it was quiet for a while. _

_Joe would look over at me and then look away when I turned my head. "What's wrong?" I asked finally. _

"_Have you ever kissed a boy?" he inquired. _

"_No…why?" _

"_I heard my brother talking about it, and I was just wondering. I never kissed anyone," Joe blushed. _

"_Do you want to try?" I asked. His big brown eyes looked up at me and nodded. I didn't know exactly how to "kiss" so; we just pressed our lips together quickly. After that kiss, we went back to homework, as if it meant nothing. _

_-----------------------------_

_After those awkward years in elementary school, we graduated into seventh grade. We were both invited to a party, and arrived together. Our friends were all the same, so we all hung out. I remember asking my other friend, Kayla, whether or not Joe and I should be together. It's been a couple years after that awkward kiss, and I still felt as if there was something between us. Kayla answered that I should "go for it" because he's "my best friend". _

_I took her advice and decided that tonight would be the night I told Joe that I really did like him, and wanted to be more than just friends. At that age, seven minutes in heaven was a popular game (partially because it made everyone think they were older and cooler). Joe was all up for playing, being a "ladies man" and all, even at that young age.. _

_Everyone picked their "partner" quickly. I stood and watched as I saw Joe go over and stand beside a blonde girl from my English class, Cathy. A surge of jealousy pulsed through my body, because I wanted to be the one with Joe. I never played that game, instead I walked outside…alone. Everyone else was inside making out. _

_I guess when the seven minutes were up, Joe walked out to find me sitting on the step. He snuck up behind me and squeezed the sides of my stomach. "Gotcha!" he laughed and took a seat beside me. "Watcha doin' out here by yourself?" he asked, nudging my elbow. _

"_Not much for that type of game…" _

"_You? Come on! I know you better than that!" he laughed. _

"_Yeah, well, maybe you don't…"_

"_Are you mad at me or something? What's wrong? Come on, you can talk to me!" _

"_Joe…ha…I don't know how to say this, or even if I should…this is weird…" I spoke, flustered. "I…I think I like you…which is why I left, seeing you with Cathy and such…I don't know, it's stupid…" _

_Joe looked shocked at what I said. "Uh, look, you're my best friend. And….that's kind of all I feel. I mean, you're my best bud….I don't see us like…that. I'm sorry, Ashley." He bit his lip. _

"_No, its fine…you know, I'll get over it. What was I thinking? We're just friends…"I laughed it off. "Come on, let's go back inside!" I smiled, nudging his arm. He smiled, stood up, and reached down to help me. As I was lifted up, our faces ended up inches apart, and we both turned red. _

_-----------------------------_

_A couple of months later, Joe went out with Cathy and broke up with her during the same month. Then, Joe went out with another girl from his social studies class, who eventually cheated on him. After he broke up with her, I was there for him after he was depressed from her cheating on him. We were in his room, sitting on his bed. We were over my sudden outburst of feelings from the party and were still friends. "It's weird…" Joe began, breaking a long silence. "Every girl I go out with...I somehow compare her to you…."_

"_Me?"_

"_Yeah, I mean…you're my best friend, you're always there for me, and I can talk to you…All the other girls I meet….aren't like that. I guess what I'm going at, is…maybe going out wouldn't be such a bad idea. We spend a lot of time together, and I've known you practically all my life," Joe breathed, looking over to see my reaction. _

"_You really think that?" inside, I bursting with excitement. He never knew that ever since the party, I may have looked like I didn't like him still, but the truth was: I was still crushing on him. _

"_Do you want to be my girlfriend?" he finally asked. I smiled, and said 'yes'. "Great!" he smirked and pulled me into a hug. _

_-----------------------------_

_We went out for our first official date, the next weekend. We went mini-golfing; Joe's mom drove us to the golf course. At first, as I remember, we were a bit awkward because we were thinking too far into the whole "date" idea. After the fourth hole, we were back to our normal selves, playing as if we weren't actually dating. We had such a fun time that we finished really fast. _

_Joe's mom wasn't coming for another ten minutes, so we sat on a hill overlooking the parking lot. It was about dusk, so the sun was setting. We were reminiscing on how he totally sucked at mini-golf, lost his ball numerous times, and lost. _

"_Well, aren't you the little bragger!" he joked. _

"_And aren't you the sore loser!" I retorted. We both laughed and looked into the sunset. As we sat there, waiting for his mom, our hands would occasionally hit one another as we switched positions. I believe I blushed every time that happened. I don't remember exactly who initiated it, but soon, our lips were on top of each other. It felt so nice, being my first "real" kiss. The one in his room when we were nine defiantly didn't count. _

_When we parted, we smiled at each other, and were embarrassed to see him mom's car waiting for us at the bottom of the hill._

_Once inside the car, Kevin said, "Ooh! Joe and Ashley sitting in a tree…k-i-s-s-i-n-g!" Even though he was fourteen, he was not mature at all. _

"_Kevin! Stop it!" their mom intervened from the front seat. Joe and I giggled at his brother getting in trouble._

_So, anyway…after our first of many dates, Joe and I grew over that awkward going out stage. It truly felt like everything was right. We were best friends and got the benefits of being exclusive to just one another. _

_-----------------------------_

_One night, I remember, we were lying in his backyard, looking at the stars. "You know what's weird? Thinking about when we are a lot older, and like married…not to each other exactly, but…like living on our own," I thought. _

"_Yeah, that's weird. Why are you thinking about that, you're thirteen?" Joe laughed. _

"_I know…Oh my God!" I gushed, turning on my side to look at Joe. "Do you know what I want when I'm older?" he was silent, so I continued with my dream. "A cute little house, out in the country-side. With a rose garden in the front, with a picket-fence!" _

"_You are so weird!" _

"_Am not! Do you seriously not dream about your future and how you want everything to look? I mean, roses are my favorite flowers, so it's just right to have their own garden. Plus, picket-fences are a must when you have a house in the country!" I protested, laughing at my stupidity of sharing this dream of mine. _

"_Alright, well, mark my words…if we get married, I'll get you that," he smiled and rolling his eyes. _

"_Hey! I saw that eye-roll! But, consider yourself marked!" I warned, laughing as well. That night we fell asleep under the nighttime sky. Joe's parents didn't even bother us or wake us up. I awoke lying on Joe's chest and smiled to myself thinking about Joe's "promise" to fulfill my dream if we got married. Not that I was thinking of getting married to him, but it was the thought that counted. _

_-----------------------------_

_We went out for…I don't know, for six months or so? We had a lot of fun, fooled around, but then got bored. I guess it was boring being with each other for that long of a time. I mean, we were inseparable since kindergarten. To Joe, it was a mutual agreement, but for me, I still wanted to hang on to him. I just kept that on the inside. _

_After our break-up we were still friends, but started to head in different directions. I began to play percussion in the school band, while he actually got started on a band with his brothers. When we were sixteen, we began to pick up our friendship again. However, soon after, Joe and his brothers were discovered and started a whole new career. _

"_I'll be back! Don't worry, Ash. We'll always be friends…" Joe said, giving me a huge hug before leaving. _

-------------------------------

Now, here I am, receiving news that my oldest friend was coming back. Wow, I wonder if he remembers what happened when we were younger. _Oh my gosh, what if we have another chance to go out? Hold up Ash, you haven't seen the boy in two years…he probably has changed. _I actually was nervous to see him again. I mean, I've seen pictures online of him and his brothers, since he's famous and has thirteen year olds wishing to marry him. _Ha, I can't believe I used to be best friends with the same guy….meeting him again will be interesting none-the-less. Plus, he has matured and defiantly bloomed into a very handsome guy. Tomorrow shall be interesting._

* * *


	2. Catching Up

sorry, its a bit long...

* * *

Around eleven, I rolled out of bed and tried to put myself together. I put on some clothes, brushed my teeth, and pulled my long brown hair into a high pony tail.

I walked down my stairs, which entered into the living room, to see a huge surprise. "Ashley?"

"Joe?" _Oh my God, my mom never woke me up! Wow, seeing Joe again was really strange. He sure had grown up, and looks better than those pictures online._ He greeted me with a huge hug that lifted me off of my feet. _I guess he still remembered me!_

"How've you been?" he asked, holding my arms out, as he looked me over. I blushed, thinking I should have chose a better outfit.

"Good, you?"

"Amazing. Wow, it's so nice to see you again…I've missed you! How long has it been? Two years or so? Wow…you look great!" he complimented, and I felt my face start to redden again.

"Yeah, it's been a while. Thanks, you're not lookin' too bad, either," I smiled and nudged his elbow like I used to. He smirked and pushed the hair away from his forehead, only for the few pieces of hair to fall back again. _I can't believe how much he's changed!_ "Where's your brothers?" I asked, looking around to only see my mom.

"Oh, they left a while ago…but I stuck around because I wanted to see you again," he smirked again. "Listen, want to go out and meet up with Kevin and Nick? Maybe get some lunch on the way?" I agreed, and then went back upstairs to change into better clothes.

I came back down with my hair down, a t-shirt, and my skinny jeans. "Ash, you didn't need to try and impress me," Joe joked.

"Don't flatter yourself!" I laughed, following him out the door. Outside, he had a car waiting for us. "You? Drive? This is going to be interesting. Don't kill me!" I teased, getting into the passenger side.

"Ha Ha, I'll have you know, I am a perfectly fine driver! Jeeze, I haven't been here ten minutes and you're already actin' up!"

"I've been saving it all up for when you came back!"

So, he began to drive and didn't tell me where we were heading. He had a Switchfoot CD on, but it was turned low because of our conversation. We talked about his tour and life on the road. _Wow, he's been pretty busy. Kind of weird when I've been stuck here. Is it just me, or does he smirk at me an awful lot? _

He finally stopped the car in a shopping center with the local café. Surprisingly, there were only a few people sitting at the tables, not paying attention to Joe walking inside, which I wasn't complaining about._I wonder if he could go out to regular places, and not get bombarded…_

We were seated at a table in the back corner. "Let me guess, salad?" Joe asked me, while looking at the menu.

"What makes you say that?"

"Uh, aren't you a vegetarian?"

"Two years ago…I've grown out of that stage…I guess I got chicken-deprived. Is that the only thing you remember about me?"

"Not exactly," he smirked. _Again with that smirk!_ Joe seemed to remember an awful lot about me; well…I remembered a lot about him as well.

"Ashley!" a voice from behind me called. It was Kevin and Nick! I guess they were meeting us here. I stood up and gave both of them a hug.

"Aw, Nick, you're grown up!" I joked, remembering him as a little kid. The boys sat down with us and then we all ordered our food.

"So, how's our old friend Ash doin'?" Kevin asked, turning to me.

"Nothing really, getting ready for college…you know, all that junk"

"I can honestly say I can't," Kevin laughed. _Oh right, they were all home-schooled._The four of us talked some more, leading Kevin to remember a very awkward moment. "Oh my God, how could I forget! You two went out! Ha, I still remember your first kiss!" Kevin awed.

I half expected Joe to hit his brother or try to get off the subject, but he did the opposite. "Yeah, I remember, good times….Well, it wasn't our first kiss…right Ash?" he smiled.

"Joe, we were nine…"

"Still counts. Man that was so long ago. It's weird, I still remember all of that…I mean, us…going out…I'm glad that we moved passed that and are still friends though!" he smiled, nudging me again. _If he only knew that even after we broke up, I was still in love with him. _

"You two were cute…not that you aren't now…separated…" Kevin said, confusing himself and scrunching up his face.

Our food came and we all ate, and still reminisced. After paying the bill and such, we all agreed to head back to their parent's house.

**FF: Joe's house**

"Ashley!" Joe's mom screeched as I walked in through the front door. I said 'hi' and gave her a hug. She was such a sweetheart. "What are you guys up to?" she asked her boys.

"I don't know…stuff," Joe shrugged, heading out into the hall. His mom just rolled her eyes, smiled then walked back into the living room. I followed Joe down into the basement looking at all the old photos on the walls. _It's so funny, seeing how that young boy could grow up into...what he is now: drop dead gorgeous. _

Downstairs, the boys had a Wii system hooked up. Joe instantly challenged me to a match of boxing.

"I've never exactly played this before," I warned.

"Don't worry, Joe sucks, you'll probably win," Nick advised. I laughed, and grabbed the two controllers.

"I don't suck!" Joe protested, setting the game.

"Sure…you think that," Nick rolled his eyes. _Man, I missed hanging out with these guys. _So, the match started and I could honestly say I looked like an idiot: punching thin air. I guess I was doing good because I had Joe's brothers rooting me on in the back.

"Ash! You won!" Kevin said, giving me a high-five. I looked at the screen showing one character lying on the mat. _Did I really win? It was that easy?_

"I let you win," Joe muttered, obviously pissed off. "Beginner's luck."

"You're such a sore loser!" I sat back down on the couch, letting Kevin or Nick take a turn. Well, the both ended up playing, letting Joe sit back down next to me. "You got beat by a girl!" I teased, pointing at him.

"I'll get you back…don't worry," he promised.

"Ooh, I'm so scared!" He was quiet after my comment. I let it go, and continued to watch Kevin box Nick. I sat up a bit to adjust my shirt. Joe then poked the side of my stomach. I jolted from surprise and glared over at him. _He knew that was my ticklish spot._ He didn't back off, instead he kept poking my sides. "Joe! Stop," I said, trying to wriggle away from him.

He wouldn't stop; instead he began to tickle me. I was laughing so hard that I couldn't take a breath the tell him to stop. "What's going on back there?" Kevin called back, too busy to see for himself.

"Nothing!" Joe called back. He turned back to look at my face and winked. This didn't let him stop, however, oh no, he continued to tickle my sides. At this point, I was lying on the couch with him on top of me.

"Joe! Stop!" I managed to say, trying to push him off of me. _I hated being tickled. It was such an uncomfortable feeling_. "You…know…I hate being…hah…tickled!"

"You didn't believe me I would get you back!" _I cant believe this was his way of getting me back. _

"Whoa, do we need to separate you two? I know it's been a while, but come on…" Kevin noted, looking at us.

Finally, Joe stopped tickling me and crawled off of me. I sat up and re-adjusted my shirt again, which was now crooked and rolled up a bit. "Thank you!" I glared at Joe. He just smirked.

We continued to hang out in the basement until it was about dusk. Nick and Kevin went upstairs to their rooms while Joe and I ventured to his backyard. "Looks the same," I noted.

"Yeah…I think this is my first time back here in years…" Joe breathed, looking around at everything. "Oh! Remember this?" he asked, grabbing my hand and pulling me to the back of the yard. _When his hand touched mine, I couldn't help but love that feeling again. It felt right. I wonder if Joe may like me again? I mean, the smirking, the winks, the tickling? I don't know, it sort of seems like it. Very flirty. I mean, I still like him….its werid to admit that. It's been two years, and I'm still crushing on the same guy? Can you say pathetic? _

Joe walked us over to a spot and stopped, dropping my hand with our halt. "Remember?" he repeated.

"Not ringing any bells…" _Of course I knew what that spot was…I didn't want to seem like I only thought about our past everyday. _

"Seriously? Remember, while we were going out? We sat on a blanket and actually spent the night there together,"

"Oh, wow…right," I said. _I wonder if he remembers what I said and what he promised._ Joe chuckled to himself. "What?"

"Nothing...Heh…just thinking, we can say that we slept together…but. Not it that way," he laughed. I smiled at his juvenile thought. I guess he didn't remember our conversation, or maybe he didn't want to. "We made a good couple," Joe remembered.

"You think so?"

"Of course…going out with my best friend? I mean, before we were practically going out…we just had to make it official. Plus…don't take this the wrong way, but I always wanted to kiss you back then…so by going out I was allowed to…I know, stupid right?" he laughed, grabbing the back of his neck.

I don't know what came over me, but looking up at my old best friend, a feeling came over me. I looked up at Joe, into those brown eyes, and pulled his face down to mine. Feeling his lips over mine brought back all of those memories from our past. Joe was taken a-back, but managed to kiss me back.

However, he quickly pushed himself away. "Ash…look…I can't…I am en…no, wait…"_Was he seriously turning me down? Again? How many times do I have to get turned down from him in my life? _

"Why? I thought—"_you liked me…_ "Never mind…I just thought…I don't know actually..."

"You thought I liked you again? I can see how you thought that…but listen, Ash, I love you…but as a friend. I was being how I was earlier, so that we could rekindle our friendship again,"

"Did you just say rekindle?"

"Yeah, don't laugh." He smiled. "Ash, come on, we tried the whole going out thing…it didn't work. We can just be friends, that's alright too," he reassured, rubbing my arm for reassurance. _Again with this whole friends thing. Augh, I wanted to rip my hair out. One, because I felt so stupid, and two, because he _still_ didn't like me in that way. What was wrong with me?_

"Yeah, you're right…friends," I agreed, reaching my hand out for him to shake it. He smirked and pulled me into a hug. When he couldn't see my face, I stopped smiling and savored my time being in his embrace again.

* * *

be prepared for a huge shock in the next chapter... 


	3. Surprise Surprise

sorry it took me a while...school has been really busy and such, hope you like

* * *

I heard my bedroom door open, but I didn't think much of it. It was probably my mom coming to wake me up, and try and get me to come downstairs for breakfast. I just kept on sleeping, I didn't need breakfast.

I felt someone poke my back; I rolled over on my side and grumbled. "Wake up, Ash!" spoke a guys voice. _Who the hell is in my room? Oh…I know who…_

"Joe…go away. It's too early..." I grumbled from under my blanket.

"No its not sleepy-head, its one! Get up!" Joe ordered me again. _One? Oh well, in my book, that is still early_. Now, Joe kept hitting me to try and get me to wake up. Finally, I got so aggravated, that I sat up. "Look, was that too hard?" I glared at him, and waited for what was so important that I had to wake up. "I have to tell you something…" Joe said.

"Uh..Okay? And you had to wake me up for this?" I asked, yawning.

"Yeah…I was going to tell you last night, but I decided against it…Alright, here goes nothing," Joe breathed, sitting on the edge of my bed. _Was this really that hard for him?_ "Alright, well, you know how…you…sort of, kissed me last night?" _Yeah…that wasn't embarrassing at all considering—_"well, there's a reason besides the fact we are just friends….I am sort of, well not sort of, I…I am engaged."

"What? Did you just say that you were engaged?" I asked in disbelief. _Joe? Engaged? What? Was this a joke?_ "Joe, your 18! What are you thinking?"

"So what, she means a lot to me…Gretchen, I mean." _Gretchen? Why didn't he tell me this sooner? Why is he getting married? _"We met at one of our shows, and I don't know…we sort of connected. We've stayed really close and it sort of felt like the right thing to do, I really love her…"

_No! I've known him longer! I was his first kiss! I was…is…his best friend! We could have stayed close if we wanted! No, this is not fair! He loves her? Psh, yeah right. He meets her for what ten minutes and talks to her for a long time, and what….get married? If this was his thinking, we should have gotten married a long time ago. What the hell was going on his head? I can not believe this!_

"Ash…are you okay?" Joe's voice brought me back to reality. _No, I want okay. He is 18 freaking years old and getting married to some random girl named Gretchen. I wouldn't call me exactly okay._

"Yeah, I guess so…."

"Great! She's coming in to town tonight, and I really want you to meet her! Plus, I really want you to be there when we get married…." _Was this conversation really happening. My best friend telling me he's getting married….at 18. I don't think I can get over that fact._

"Oh, okay, give me a heads up when that is…" I breathed, thinking this was one of those moments you needed some sort of alcoholic drink and decided to take a huge gulp from the glass.

"Great, get a dress because it's this Saturday!" he smiled. _Did I hear that correctly. Was he on drugs? Saturday? _"I'll see you later tonight! I'll give you a call!" he said, giving me a hug and jumping out of my room.

I sat there on my bed, even after he left. _Married. Saturday. Gretchen? I cant believe this! Why didn't he tell me earlier? Why didn't he make the wedding, oh I don't know, in a longer time! What….I don't even know what to think anymore._ I sat there on the bed contemplating what just happened. All I could do was laugh. _This is my luck. I am still in love with my best friend who is getting married to some random chick in like three days. Great! Wonderful! Love life!_

I decided to go see what his brothers thought of this arrangement. I grabbed my sweatshirt and sweatpants and ran over to the Jonas household. Thankfully, Kevin was outside getting ready to get in his car with Nick.

"Ash! Hey, Joe's not home, he's….out," Kevin yelled over to me.

"Good!" I said, walking up to them. "He told me…about _Gretchen_."

"Oh…yeah, about that," Nick breathed, grabbing the back of his neck, like Joe.

"What is wrong with him? He's only 18! Is she like the most amazing person on this planet? Is she worth getting married to? On Saturday!" I breathed.

"Woah, Ashley…calm down. Obviously you're not too into this whole situation: join the club. To answer your questions: Joe's a bonehead, she is not the most amazing person ever, she is defiantly not worth getting married to and yes, this Saturday," Kevin laughed.

"Look, if it were up to us, we would pack her bags for her…but, Joe's our brother and we can't exactly do anything about it…" Nick admitted. _I guess that is true, but still…._

"I mean, I guess I would approve of it if--"

"If you didn't like him still…" Kevin added.

"No, I didn't say….yeah…" I muttered, accepting that everyone could see my crush on Joe.

"Thought so, look…he's bringing her here tonight, so you will get to meet her….As for you little predicament, try and make Joe see that he is making a huge mistake," Nick advised. _Sounds like a good plan. Hopefully, I can't do that._

"Thanks guys, I guess I'll see you later tonight?" They nodded and I walked back to my house, thinking what this Gretchen character will look like.

**FF: Meeting Gretchen**

Joe called me around seven thirty. He told me to come by the house in a couple minutes to meet his fiancé. _Fiancé, now that was a weird word to say with Joe._

I rung the doorbell of the Jonas' house, and his mother opened the door. She greeted me with a smile and led me into the family room. I saw Nick, Kevin, and Frankie sitting on one couch, and Joe and _Gretchen_, on the other. "Ashley! Hey! I would like you to meet, Gretchen," Joe said, standing up. The girl behind him stood up as well, walking towards me.

"Hi, Ashley! I heard so much about you! So glad I can finally meet you!" she squeaked, shaking my hand. I smiled, noticing Kevin rolling his eyes at her comment. "Oh, I love your bag! So cute!" she gushed, talking about my Vera Bradley purse.

"Thanks, it's so great to meet you!" I thanked, and sat down on a chair near Kevin. Kevin nudged me, and I started to laugh, as if knowing what he was thinking. I took this time to fully look over Gretchen. She had wavy blonde hair to her chest, which was bulging out of her low-cut shirt. She wore jeans and black pumps. Her face was sort of scrunched up, and her make-up was so overdone it was not even funny. She was always running her hands through her hair or putting her hand on Joe's knee. _Not cool, honey! Not cool. _Augh, she was so….not Joe's type. She reminded me of something, I just couldn't grasp it.

We sat in the living room for a while longer, listening to how they met and all about her life, growing up in some town in California. I zoned out a bit, her voice annoyed me. I still can't believe Joe is marrying this girl? What does she have that I don't? Big boobs, blonde hair, a boring life? Just hearing her talk and watching Joe look at her smiling, made my blood boil.

Finally, her cell phone buzzed and she had to excuse herself from the room to answer it. "So, Ash, what do you think?" Joe asked, finally acknowledging my existence.

"Uhm…she's nice. Excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom," I said, leaving before I say something wrong. I headed towards the bathroom, but it was occupied already. _Gretchen, right…_I heard her speaking rather loudly to her "friend" and she was laughing. I pressed my ear to the door and began to listen.

"Oh my God, and his friend, Ashley, I think her name is…she is such a wreck. I mean, her purse was Vera Bradley, I mean, a knock-off Louis Vuitten would have been better. I can't believe that Joe is friends with her. Well, this is a pretty small town, probably had no one else to hang out with. I feel slightly sorry for her; she needs a makeover...Ha-ha! I know right?"

If this door wasn't between me and that two-faced liar, I would have punched the living day-lights out of her. _Makeover? She was the one to talk! _ I continued to hear her conversation. "…of course I want to do this. I mean, he is Joe Jonas for gods-sake! So many girls would kill to be me! And, I mean, he is awesome! Plus, he is probably going to be loaded, when his little band ends. And I get to me Mrs. Joe Jonas...I know I am lucky!" _Oh, this bitch was going down. How could she think like this? Joe was more than just a guy from a band with money; so much more…_I couldn't even hear the rest of what she would say, it's too sad.

I knocked on the door, and heard her tell her friend she had to go. She opened the door, and smirked at me standing there. "Hi Ashley! Sorry to keep you waiting…something happened back home, devastating…" she lied.

"Don't talk to me," I glared, pushing past her and into the bathroom. I never heard her respond, I just closed the door. _ I cant believe it. She was a horrible human being. She is just using Joe! How can someone get this mean, and only be 18? What does Joe seriously see in her? _

I pulled out my cell phone and decided to text Kevin, to try and pull something off. I walked out of the bathroom, ready to piss Gretchen off.

Instead of sitting on my chair next to Kevin, I sat on the arm of the couch where Joe was sitting. I rested my arm on his shoulder and smiled over his head to Gretchen, who just glared at me.

"Oh, Gretchen, I forgot to tell you that I absolutely love your bag? Is it Coach? I used to have one like that, but then I thought it wasn't springy enough," I smiled, looking at her black leather bag next to her.

"Thanks, yes, it is Coach," she glared again at me.

"I can't stand how expensive designer bags are! Its so outrageous, don't you think so Joe? Would you pay $200 or so for a bag that will be out of style in a month?" I asked, tilting my head.

"Uh, probably not…but, whatever makes her happy," he smiled over at Gretchen._Well, that was the opposite reaction I was hoping for._

"How cute," I smiled again, adjusting my body to sit somewhat closer to Joe. Then, I winked over at Kevin.

"Aw, Ash…you two look like you did a couple years ago, remember that Joe? When you and Ash went out? You guys sitting like that, just makes me remember," Kevin awed.

"You two went out….how cute," Gretchen said sarcastically.

"Yeah, they were_perfect_ for each other," Kevin dared again.

"Kevin, shut up!" Joe retorted.

"Sorry bro, just stating a fact," Kevin stopped, realizing he didn't want his brother to get mad at him.

"Joe, lighten up…it was the past. Remember what we said last night, after we were standing where we spent the night together, and after we…you know," I said, acting innocent.

"What did you guys do?" Nick asked, hearing the "After we" part of my sentence.

"Nothing! Ash, can I talk to you few a sec? Alone?" he asked, looking up at me. We both stood up and headed out of the living room and out the back door. "What are you doing? Are you okay?" he asked.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

"Oh I don't know, maybe because you're trying to bring up our past relationship to make Gretchen feel weird or something?"

"I am not!" Joe just stared at me, and I unfolded a bit. "It wasn't intended…"

"You said this morning that you were okay with this! Why are you being like this inside? What do you have against her?" _You want me to list them all?_ "Just, can you just be nice to her? Please, for me?"

Joe actually looked like he meant it. I felt too bad arguing anymore, so I just accepted his request and walked back inside and sat on the chair next to Kevin.

Later that night, I decided that it would be better to go home, so I said my goodbyes to the Jonas family and _her_.

"So nice meeting you, Ashley! Can't wait to see you again," she smiled again, reaching for a hug. As much as I didn't want to, I accepted but quickly pulled away.

"Oh, Ash!" Joe called, running out the door. I turned around and waited for what he was going to say. "Go get your dress at Linda's boutique tomorrow, that's where Gretchen got her dress, and you can get a discount there because my mom knows Linda."

"Oh, thanks…" I said, walking back to my house.

**FF: Dress shop**

The next morning I drove over to Linda's Boutique. Inside, there were an arrangement of different dresses, and I picked out a nice light blue one. It was nothing poofy or drastic; just simple and springy.

When I emerged from the dressing room, Linda walked over and began fussing over on how "perfect" it was and how "pretty" I looked. I thanked her, and saw _her_ walking towards me.

"Ash, how great to see you again! Isn't that a cute dress!" Gretchen gushed, holding a large white dress in her hand. "I cant believe I am getting married in two days! I am such a lucky girl!" she smiled, walking to a dressing room.

"Me neither," I whispered.

"What was that?" she turned around, looking at me.

"Nothing…can't wait to see your dress," I smiled. A couple minutes after I changed out of the dress, Gretchen emerged. The dress was actually very pretty. _Shame it had to be worn by such a horrible person_.

"Oh, I love it! Don't you? Joe will absolutely love this!" she gushed, staring at herself in the mirror.

"It's really pretty…I would just refrain from eating too much, looks like it's a little tight," I advised. She instantly sucked in her stomach, and turned sideways in the mirror.

I laughed, and turned to go pay for my dress.


	4. Wedding Bells

My mom woke me up very early this morning. _What was going on? It's seven!_ "Get up! You have to get to the wedding!" she urged, handing me my dress.

"Wedding?" I asked. "Do you mean this whole thing wasn't a dream?" I groaned and then fell back on my bed.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?"

"Mom, Gretchen is a horrible…horrible bitch. Joe needs some one better…someone like…"

"You?" I nodded, about to cry. "Honey, Joe is old enough to make his own decisions…if you think that he's making a bad choice, tell him,"

"I know…but, what if he gets mad at me?"

"He wont…you two are friends…friends forgive each other," she smiled, and then patted my knee. _Unfortunately, she was right_.

I finished getting ready and then piled into the car with my mom and dad. At the church, I braced myself for telling Joe what I have been keeping inside. As I was walking around to find Joe, I heard Gretchen's voice coming from a door. Again, I put my ears to the door to hear what she was saying.

"I am so excited! Can you believe this! I can't wait, we are going to be husband and wife! And then I can finally pull him away from that Ashley girl. Augh, do you know what she said to me yesterday? She called me fat. Augh, she should talk! That dress she bought was horrendous, I can't believe people with such horrible taste are allowed to walk on Earth. Daddy is so happy for me…he is happy that I am 'going after an opportunity'"

"What opportunity?" another voice answered.

"Duh, the chance of getting part of his fortune. I mean, he is famous! I am bound to get stuff out of this!"

This was the last straw. I opened the door, surprising both Gretchen and her friend. "Ashley, hi!" she smiled. "You look great!"

"Cut the bull shit. Gretchen, I hope you know that you are the biggest bitch I have ever met in my entire life. And if you think that you are going to marry my best friend, you are so wrong!" I breathed, blood boiling.

"Aw, how cute. You think that you can stop me? Nice try, it won't work, honey. Joe likes me now, and that's all that matters. In a while, he will forget all about his little friend back home," she laughed.

"You think that. I just wanted to let you know that I heard everything that you said, and that you are completely horrible, and if you had any remote feeling stuffed in that peanut-sized brain of yours, you would see the wrong in what you're doing." I said, walking out of the door to let those words try and sink through.

Joe ended up finding me first. "Ash! Hey, I am so glad I found you, I have to tell you something." _Are you calling off the wedding? That would make life so much better!_ "Look, I am so nervous. It just makes me feel so much better that I know you will be here to watch me go through this!" he breathed, pulling me into a hug.

"About that…" I began. He pulled away and looked at me, confused. "Not to burst you bubble or anything…but, I don't want you to marry Gretchen."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Everything. Don't you see that she is a two-faced bitch that only wants to marry you for money? She hates me, lied to my face, and is completely fake. Don't you see this? I am telling you this because I don't want you to get hurt. I know we agreed to stay friends, but I can't Joe! I can't just be your friend. I love you. I've always loved you, and it kills me to see you marry another girl. It is absolutely killing me. I can't stand to see you throw your life away to someone who I think is not right for you. Just don't marry Gretchen. Please…" I said, trying to hold back tears.

"No…you're wrong. I love her, why can't you accept that we are only going to be friends. Ash, I thought you would be happy for me. I don't understand why you are making stuff up like this," he muttered in disbelief. _What was wrong with this kid?_

"Joe! Open your eyes and see that your brothers hate her and are afraid to tell you. I just have enough guts to open my mouth and tell you the truth. Now, go and throw your life away to Gretchen. I'll be there…in disbelief that you can't believe your best friend," I said, walking away to go find my parents. I didn't look back to see what Joe did, at this point, I couldn't believe that he just disregarded my comments. That hurt.

I found my parents sitting in the front next to Mr. and Mrs. Jonas. I sat down, but before I could explain to my mom what happened, organs started to play: the wedding started.

I refused to look at Gretchen as she walked down the aisle, in fact, I didn't even stand up. Instead, I was watching Joe. He was watching his "bride" walk towards him. His brothers looked miserable, while Gretchen's bridesmaids were all smiling.

The service started and I felt sick to my stomach I looked up at Kevin, and he looked as depressed as ever, knowing his brother was the biggest idiot in the world. When the priest asked if there were any people opposed to this union, to speak now or forever hold their peace, I had a feeling come over me.

I jolted right up into a standing position, and said, "I do!" Everyone darted their eyes at me and Joe looked like he was going to throw-up. Kevin and Nick finally smiled, while Gretchen looked like she was fuming.

"Do you having something you want to say, young lady?" the priest asked me.

"Oh, do I. Some of you know Gretchen to be this sweet, young lady…sorry, but you were mistaken. Twice I overheard Gretchen speaking to somebody about how she is so excited to marry 'the Joe Jonas' and how much she can get out of this marriage. Isn't that true Gretchen, how your only in this for the potential money?" I glared.

"No, of course not! I love Joe with all my heart and I would never do such a thing to hurt him!" she protested, stepping towards me little. I walked closer to her.

"Then how come you are lying right now? In a church! That's pretty bad, I would think. Oh, and tell him how much you really hate me. Maybe when it comes out of your mouth, he will believe it." I said, glancing at Joe.

"I don't hate you, you're just jealous…I think you should go sit back down!" she glared again, trying to smile.

"God, forgive me for what I am going to say," I whispered, looking at the ceiling. "Gretchen, go to hell and take all of your lies and stick them up your fat ass!" I cried.

Gretchen's faced changed to anger, and she lifted up her arm and swung her arm at me._Wow, I was sort of expecting some sort of hit for that, not exactly a punch._ I fell backward and landed on my back. There was an echo of "oohs" as Kevin and Nick ran over to me.

"Ashley, are you okay?" they asked, letting me sit up.

"Father, please, get on with the ceremony. We don't need any more interruptions. Just skip to the end!" Gretchen said, as if nothing just happened.

"No!" Joe interrupted. He stepped away from the alter and towards where I was sitting. "Ashley's right. You're a horrible person. I don't know why I didn't see it until now. Ashley is my best friend, and told me everything she just announced. I didn't believe her, well, I didn't want to believe her, but after seeing you…I have no choice but to believe her. Gretchen, I am not marrying you," he said, walking further away.

"Ash, I am so sorry. Standing up there, listening to you and watching all of this unfold, I realized something…I love you." Now, a number of gasps were released from the audience and Gretchen stormed off the alter screaming to herself.

"You do?"

"Yeah, and, I am really sorry for before…I was just so stupid," he blamed himself.

"It's okay, friends always forgive each other"

"Ash…can we be more than friends?"

"I thought you would never ask!" I smiled, pulling his face towards mine. During our kiss, I heard Kevin say, "Finally."

"Pardon me, but, what about this wedding?" the priest asked.

"I don't think there will be a need for a wedding today," my mom intervened, standing up.

Joe pulled me up and apologized to the families who were still seated in the pews. "I am really sorry, but there will be no wedding today…we're too young anyway," Joe smiled, looking down at me. _Finally, it got through his head_.

As people began to file out of the church, Kevin and Nick exclaimed to Joe how happy they were that he wasn't marrying Gretchen. Joe just rolled his eyes and continued to walk with me outside.

"You know, if we ever get to the point where…I don't know, we could be the ones standing at the alter, I'll still keep my promise," Joe whispered.

"What promise?"

"You know, rose garden…picket fence…" Joe smiled.

"You remember that?"

"Of course, anything you said I remembered," he admitted. I smiled, happy that we finally were back together.

* * *

Hope you liked it!!! 


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